Volpe v. Gallagher

SHEA, Justice (Ret.),

dissenting.

I respectfully dissent. The majority opinion presupposes that defendant, by merely granting her adult son permission to live in her house, automatically was conferred with the ability to control his actions. Such a conclusion would render Restatement (Second) Torts § 318(a) (1965) meaningless because the duty to control the conduct of a licensee is imposed only after it is establishéd that the licensor “knows or has reason to know that he has the ability to control the [licensee].” The case law that follows demonstrates that mere permission to remain on the…